Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month

Floor Speech

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Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I rise today, in recognition of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Every year throughout the month of May, the people of the United States come together to celebrate the contributions of generations of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, AA NH/PI, who have enriched our society and whose legacies are deeply intertwined in our Nation's history.

The AA NH/PI communities are among the fastest growing and most diverse demographic groups in our country. Today, approximately 23 million people of AA NH/PI descent live in the United States, representing more than 45 ethnicities and speaking more than 100 languages. As AA NH/PI communities increase their social and political presence in our country, we must work to raise the visibility of issues important to AA NH/PIs. One way to do this is to uplift the diverse voices of our communities through representation. This year, there are a record 21 AA NH/PI Members serving in Congress, and we celebrate the historic election of Kamala Harris to be the first woman and the first Asian American to hold the Office of the Vice President. However, even with today's progress, our AA NH/PI communities continue to face issues of disparity and prejudice.

This year, we once again commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month amid a global pandemic. While the pandemic has claimed the lives of more than half a million Americans, COVID-19 has had an outsized impact on communities of color, including Pacific Islanders, who are three times more likely to contract COVID-19 and are nearly twice as likely to die from the disease. The pandemic has also exposed and exacerbated social and economic disparities in our country. Throughout the pandemic, Pacific Islanders and other vulnerable groups have been disproportionately impacted by unemployment, food and income insecurity, and unstable or inadequate housing, among other hardships. This pandemic has highlighted the work we must do to ensure that all Americans, especially individuals from marginalized communities, have access to quality healthcare, fair pay, workplace protections, and other civil and human rights.

Violence and discrimination against Asian Americans have also surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between March 2020 and March 2021, Stop AAPI Hate received over 6,600 reports of discrimination and hate incidents across all 50 States and the District of Columbia. These unprovoked, random attacks can happen anywhere--on public transportation, on sidewalks, in businesses, and even in the workplace.

The dramatic rise in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans might be a recent development, but we all know that racism has never been far beneath the surface in our country. Part of honoring the rich history of the AA NH/Pl community includes reflecting on some of the darker moments in our Nation's past. AA NH/PIs have always been targeted as the ``other'' in our country and have been treated as the perpetual ``foreigner.'' Since the first Asian immigrants came to our country nearly two centuries ago, our communities have experienced race-based prejudice and have been subject to discriminatory policies that impinged on individuals' civil rights, improperly rescinded wartime promises, and excluded immigrants from Asian countries out of intolerance and fear.

Recognizing the recent increase of hate crimes, Representative Grace Meng and I introduced legislation to focus attention on hate crimes committed during the pandemic. Last week, President Biden signed this bill, the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, into law. This action sent a clear message of solidarity to our AA NH/PI communities at a crucial moment. This bipartisan legislation will help Federal, State, and local governments confront hate in our country and help victims of hate crimes to come forward.

Today, AA NH/PIs are uniting to confront this epidemic of racism, discrimination, and hate. We are marching, speaking out, and demanding action in cities and states across the Nation to ensure that our country does not repeat the mistakes of the past. Representation and visibility are some of the ways we are making our voices heard. However, we must also sustain efforts to teach empathy and educate others about our history. We can help to create a more just and equitable society by raising awareness of past injustices and current issues of importance to our communities.

As we celebrate the contributions of AA NH/PIs, there is also clear evidence demonstrating how much work remains to be done. I look forward to working with my colleagues beyond the month of May, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, to continue the work that must be done to advance civil rights and equal treatment for all.

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